Heart of Steel The Life of Metal Sonic
by Samwise Chubb
Summary: A Fan-fic about Metal Sonic's life from the start of Sonic CD to his insane scheme to dominate the world in Sonic Heroes. The plot goes through Sonic CD, S3&K, Sonic Adventure games and ends at Battle.
1. Abomination!

"THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" screamed Eggman as he watched, powerlessly as Super Sonic rampaged through every bit of machinary in The Death Egg. All of his most powerful inventions were one, by one, being destroyed by the hedgehog's rage.  
  
Suddenly the great scientist's mind was brought back to his prototype weapon, how could he have forgotten him? Without thinking nor paying mind to the ongoing destruction of his lifes work the evil doctor ran through the halls into the main laboratory. Frantically he worked at a console, trying to activate his ultimate weapon. All seemed lost as the explosions ran through the entire space-station and though the doctor worked fast, apparently he was not as fast as his adversary. The fires spread, the explosions continued and soon the laboratory and everything held within it were consumed by the flames.  
  
Pressing his Sonic speed to the limit, Sonic raced onwards out of the docking bay and made a mad and desperate dive for the saftey of the planet below him. The day was saved, the Death Egg destroyed, the 7 Chaos Emeralds safe again. His job was complete.  
  
As if his relief was a trigger, the magic of the emeralds withdrew and changed Sonic from his Super form back into his cool blue self. Taking away his extra powers, and his ability to fly.  
  
Well... I guess this is it. No use being the fastest thing alive if there's no land to speed on. he closed his eyes at least I took down Eggman. At least my friends are safe. Maybe they'll find my body and hold a national holiday on my behalf, "Sonic, our saviour, he died to save us from Eggman"  
  
He opened his eyes to watch the ocean and say goodbye to the world which he loved so dearly....  
  
-  
  
The sun was setting on Westside Island. Families were packing up their stuff from a long day of relaxation on the beach as lovers hugged and witnessed the beauty of nature. The world was in a joyful mood, the blast in the sky that symbolised the end of Eggman was enjoyed worldwide and though no one had heard word from their hero, Sonic, no one doubted he had survived and was probably enjoying his rewards or perhaps parades in his honour. Every person had a different imagination and saw the events in a different way. The true account, that Sonic was saved by his sidekick Tails was quickly dismissed as rumour. People refused to believe that a hero would need saving, legends often dominated facts and legends were always of a flawless hero.  
  
Among those at the beach sat a young, pink hedgehog. She looked across at all the lovers starring at the sunset in unison feeling so close and bonded, 'I wish I had that' she sighed, as she continued to look out at the ocean alone 'I wonder if that Sonic guy from South Island made it back ok... he was so kind to help us all when that nasty Doctor Eggman attacked. If he died on our behalf I don't think I could ever forgive the people here for not helping' she sighed again and looked back at the dreaming lovers 'They don't seem to care though. Why would they? Small people who live small lives never worry about the things that are important' She stood up and swooned, clasping her hands together 'Oh Mr. Sonic! I'll follow you forever more in adventure and into danger so you know that you're not alone!'  
  
She gave a shocked gasp as a low rumbling noise disturbed her daydream. The commotion seemed to infect the entire beach until one observant person yelled out 'TIDALWAVE!!!'  
  
All eyes quickly turned to the sea as, from the distance a large wall of water rapidly approached them, as tall as most buildings and still growing.  
  
Panic struck as a mad dash for safety ensued, people were tripping over themselves trying to escape. People flooded into buildings trying to find higher ground while others merely dashed through the streets hoping to escape the oncoming devestation by being as far away from it as possible.  
  
Poor, alone, Amy Rose surrendered to her panic as she looked left and right rapidly wondering what she could do. Her reaction was perhaps the most obvious, but overal the least helpful. She opened her mouth and yelled at the top of her lungs 'HELP!'  
  
Without warning she found herself swept off her feet and rushed to safety. Afraid to open her eyes, but too curious to keep them closed she witnessed the face of her mysterious rescuer and instantly fell in love.  
  
'Are you alright?' questioned Sonic 'it was stupid for you to just stand there. It was stupid enough to be at the beach in the first place. Use your head in future'  
  
Amy's responce was a light-headed nod, Sonic didn't seem impressed nor interested, he had bigger things to worry about like a huge natural disaster he was powerless to prevent.  
  
Thankfully Tails was doing more than is fair share of the work airlifting people to rooftops and ensuring their safety. At this rate the damage done, at least to the people, would be minimal at best.  
  
Once everyone had been taken to safety Sonic and Tails stood confidently watching the oncoming waves.  
  
'It's gonna hit any second' said Tails, worried 'we should get moving'  
  
'Not yet' said Sonic 'I have to be sure there's no one else who can get harmed'  
  
'Mighty big tidal wave for such a small space station' said Tails, worried.  
  
He didn't recieve a reply from his best friend. Instead he noticed something else. Sonic was actually afraid. Tails knew his friend couldn't swim, but was he afraid of water?  
  
'Ok! Let's go!' called Sonic, already running ahead leaving Tails behind.  
  
His friend soon caught up and the two of them watched the tidalwaves destroy the entire coastline, after sticking around long enough to survey the damage and make sure no one was hurt, the two friends made their way home. It had been a long week, but at last The Death Egg was destroyed and the aftermath of it's descent into the atmosphere was taken care of.  
  
-  
  
Meanwhile. Several miles away from Westside Island.  
  
'I'm deeply sorry my spiny friend' said Eggman, in a deeply appologetic voice. I did not mean to cause harm to your island, I just needed to make sure that my great space station wasn't destroyed'  
  
There was a small silence in the room for a few moments, then a recorded voice made several noises much like growls, each different than the last, a language made up of growls and murmers.  
  
Soon after, a voice replied to the machine, angrily. Again there was a silence until the recording spoke again in the language that Eggman understood.  
  
'You brought damage to my homeland and sunk it to the sea! This action is unforgiveable!'  
  
Eggman shock his head and sighed, laying a hand on his smaller companion 'But it's not my fault!' he cried 'the hedgehog destroyed it. Blame him!'  
  
The message was translated again and Eggman's spiny companion fell silent, his eyes turned to a mural on the wall beside him. The image was unmistakable, a human, most probably this Dr Eggman, was protecting the treasure from the flaming demon hedgehog. His people had long forseen this day and his destiny lay before him, regardless of his personal feelings, he could not deny a mission which was set in stone before him.  
  
'Just give me the time and resources to rebuild the Death Egg and you'll never see me again' pleaded Eggman  
  
His companion hung his head and turned to face Eggman 'Ok!' he said in our language 'For now!'  
  
'Ah, still learning the language I see' said Eggman, with glee, 'you'll be speaking like a native in no time soon'  
  
In the corner of the room a solitary robot was propped against the wall, it's cold and lifeless body illuminated by a nearby green light. It's purpose nor power had yet to be defined, but this one robot was all that was salvaged from the Death Egg wreckage and it was, by far, Eggman's ultimate weapon.

* * *

Chapter 1.  
  
**Abomination!** The soulless life-form is born!  
  
LOADING...  
  
EGGTIUM 6000... MODEL 20.... CODENAME: METAL SONIC!  
  
AI STATUS: ....ONLINE!  
  
A low pitched hum filled the dimly lit room for a moment as life was born within Eggman's robotic creation. It's eyes slowly flickered to a dark red and the head tilted upwards, the jet installed in it's stomach reeved up releasing an echoing roar. Then, at last there was silence. The robot looked around in fear. It's sofisticated AI programming may have contained as much knowledge and info as Eggman could have provided, but the moment it was activated the robot was a self-aware and emotional being, brought suddenly into life with no explanation nor reason. Fear was the only responce it's CPU would respond with.  
  
It groped around it's hard, metal surface for a moment, trying to make sense. Clarrify location, Clarrify status, obtain mission objectives. Suddenly it's hand fell upon a wire attached to the ventallation shaft on it's chest. Unable to justify the responce within it's pure logic processor it instinctively tore the cord from it's body. A strange sensation. The feeling of energy being poured into it's body, which felt like euphoria to the machine, stopped instantly and with it he felt unplugged from whatever had gave it life.  
  
Carefully it took a few steps, barely noticing all of the processes which went along with such a simple action. Raise left foot, swing forwards, brace landing with front of foot, correct balance, move right leg, continue using forward momentum.  
  
So confusing, what was this place, why was he here? The robot didn't even find shock in the fact that within 2 minutes of it's birth it had defined itself not only as a being, but as a male. From "it" to "he" in 120 seconds.  
  
It's hands rested upon a large stone, it felt a warmth and a pleasant feeling being detected in it's hands. Feeling, emotion, self-recognition. The robot's Artificial Intellegance still recognised itself as a robot yet already it was feeling sensations, emotions and everything connected to life. A mechanical soul, confused and lost, the fear which had driven the robot forwards to this point was peaking, the part that was still logical, programmed by Eggman was crying for a logical responce to the sense of danger. Suddenly the answer felt clear, it was far from logical, but to the robot's newly found self-awareness it was the only possible reaction to soothe the fear.  
  
the words formed in it's head and quickly transfered to the robot's speakers. 'Help' it said, in a cold and heartless voice.  
  
Quickly it's AI scanned for a problem with the responce and repeated, in a louder to 'HELP!' still, it felt wrong. The answer to tilt the word, manipulate it to be apparent with the sense of urgency, add panic and distress to the sound to provoke a reaction 'HEEELP!!!'  
  
The scream echoed down the stone halls for some time, it was soon answered by Dr Eggman, who approached laughing with glee.  
  
'You're finally awake, my Metal Sonic'  
  
'Metal... Sonic' the robot repeated, being sure to add a sense of confusion or wonder to the projection of it's voice.  
  
'How quickly they grow up' the Doctor cackled 'You are by far my greatest creation, even if we disregard the pure power I inserted into you, the processing unit installed is revoloutionary. You are able to think, feel and even act like a true life-form'  
  
'You are my creator?' Metal Sonic asked, looking around the world and rapidly absorbing every layer of reality and accepting each of the internal processes and classifying it's place and purpose with every beat of his masters heart.  
  
'That I am Metal Sonic, you may call me father if you desire, but it's not important if you don't'  
  
Metal Sonic's mind registered this sentance, analyised it. Dr Eggman is creator. Dr Eggman allows free choice. Recognise creator as father?  
  
'I understand... father'  
  
A smile stretched across Eggman's face. A feeling of intense pride filled the evil genius' heart and he actually found himself liking his creation. The power of a single chip, until now he had never thought of any of his robots as anything but slaves. This one was different, it was like the son he never had.  
  
'Now Metal Sonic' he began, with a glimmer in his eyes 'I have a very important mission for you!'  
  
'Preparing to recieve mission parameters, please proceed' replied the robot  
  
Eggman sighed, feeling a little voice in the back of his head tell him he wasn't quite human yet. 'You are constructed in the likeness of my worthy adversary Sonic The Hedgehog' the robot nodded in responce 'Your power and skills are made to match and defeat his' again the robot nodded, noting this for future reference 'Your sole mission, defeat him by any means neccesary!'  
  
'Sonic is my nemesis? I understand!' the robot found himself searching through each of his files without thinking, already having detailed documents on the hedgehog and his past exploits. His fighting style. His attitude. Everything that made Sonic, Sonic. If Metal Sonic had a mouth, it would have smirked at the challange.  
  
'Excellent. Then we're going on a little trip. Once we arrive and I set up camp, I don't want to see you again until the hedgehog is dead!' his voice was stern and unforgiving, whatever feelings Eggman had towards this creation were gone the moment his true objectives were in sight 'You may have life and be the greatest thing I have ever constructed, but you are like all machines, you were built with specific purpose. Fail that purpose and you are reject trash, don't forget it!'  
  
The robot lowered it's head to think. So much to take in. So much to learn. Already it was beggining to form a personality and opinions, and an underlining hatred of his father.  
  
In the corner of the room another watched, he folded his arms and shock his head, 'Time waste!' he said, angrily to himself.  
  
Eggman began to leave the room 'Rest up Metal Sonic and learn all you can. We'll be setting off to The Little Planet in a few hours. Hopefully our mission there will give us enough time to complete our objectives here'  
  
And so, alone again, Metal Sonic began to test it's capabilities and decide upon it's feelings, pondering his one true mission parameter 'Destroy Sonic The Hedgehog, no matter the cost'  
  
-  
  
'And the damage caused by tidalwaves, which experts say is caused from the impact of The Death Egg upon the sea h'  
'-ro Sonic the Hedgehog! Who has once again defeated Dr E'  
'-at happened to Doctor Eggman is a mystery. But most believe him to b-'  
  
It had been at least a week since the crash of The Death Egg. Life was slowly returning to normal as stray robots were captured and dismantled to free the innocent creatures inside. Tails was busily trying to fix The Tornado from the shot it took trying to land on the Wing Fortress. The extra jet engine was, perhaps, enough for him to save Sonic and help him board Eggman's space-shuttle, but alas the engine of the plane was still broken and flying it to find the Death Egg wreckage and confirm Dr Eggman's death was not an option, yet. After that was done he had his second job ahead of him, to study the 7 Chaos Emeralds which Sonic brought back with him, as long as Tails had them, they were safe, but the curious young fox needed to know the source of their power and how they gave Sonic such a destructive force when he harnessed their powers.  
  
Sonic on the other hand had been enjoying mass publicity. Riding around in parades, talking on guest-shows, the boring stuff which he felt obliged to do as he was a self-styled symbol of hope and freedom. Deep down the hedgehog only wanted to fly out to the Death Egg and confirm that Eggman was really gone. He was certain he wasn't perhaps it was because he believed evil would never cease in the world and that his fight was a futile but neccasary one, but really he was wishing for Eggman to be alive. Even if the man was pure evil, he gave Sonic a reason to live and a source of endless adventure. He wouldn't trade that for all the parades in the world.  
  
Amy Rose on the other hand was at home, surfing all the channels waiting to see her darling Sonic again. Her childish obsession was already peaking at points which most normal people would never know. She couldn't even understand why anymore, all that mattered what that somewhere out there her darling Sonic was waiting for that perfect day that he would bump into the young and beautiful Amy Rose and declare his love for her at that very spot. Their meeting a week ago was fate, the foolish young woman was perhaps foolish enough to believe what her fantasies were telling her, but that hardly mattered as her heads were so stuck in the clouds that reality didn't take part in the equation.  
  
'Oh Sonic, when will I see you again?' she said, flicking the channels, 'My heart can't wait much longer. This week has seemed like an eternity with you starring out at me through the TV screen'  
  
Suddenly the reception scrambled on the TV and the grey snowstorm filled the screen, as quickly as the reception had cut out was it replaced with a new image. Dr Eggman and a blue robot behind him with it's arms folded.  
  
'HELLO!' yelled the voice of Dr. Eggman through the TV set 'I'm sorry for the trouble you all must have felt these past few weeks, wondering if I, the brilliant scientist, Dr Eggman was still alive or not, but fear not, for I am fine and well. I'm making this announcement to call upon the attendance of Sonic at a special little gathering at The Little Planet, I have a new playmate for him to meet'  
  
'Playmate?!' questioned Sonic, watching the TV broadcast, and rather impatiently waiting for it to end so he could speed to Netherlake, where The Little Planet appeared.  
  
'And as for the rest of you, I'll be seeing you all soon, so please don't worry too much about my absence. I just hope you all have panicked little lives fearing the moment I return to turn you all into my obedient robotic slaves!'  
  
'Oh no!' cried Amy at the screen 'Eggman's up to no good and Sonic's going to face him alone. This cannot stand! I Amy Rose shall follow Sonic to The Little Planet and beyond, as long as the two of us stand together nothing Eggman throws our way shall defeat us! We'll be invinsible!' she raised her hand into a victory pose, but as she did banging from her ceiling came down, followed by a voice.  
'Keep the noise down you crazy hedgehog'  
'Sorry' she shouted back, scratching the back of her head nervously, and making her way to meet Sonic at The Little Planet.  
  
In the Metallic Madness Zone, Eggman turned to Metal Sonic.  
'Ok Metal' he began looking at the creation 'It's time for you to show us what you're made of. Remember! Don't return until Sonic is dead!'  
  
The robot nodded and walked out. Flying away and out of the atmosphere of the world, down to Netherlake below, waiting anxiously to meet Sonic, and destroy him...  
  
_To be continued..._


	2. Trap!

Chapter 2

**A Trap?!** The Race to Netherlake!  
  
The sound of wind flowing through the rocks and canyons of the mountains that surrounded Netherlake was the only sound Metal Sonic could detect. His opponent was still far away. Not suprising though, for Netherlake was one of those rare places which the average person wouldn't even know about if not for the fame and mystery that The Little Planet granted the place. A beautiful and unspoiled valley in the middle of a mountain rage spanning miles each side.  
  
The Little Planet itself was as unspoiled as the land it hovered above, no matter how much the humans from the East continent wished to study it. Though what is known about The Little Planet is this: it appears over the planet for about a week per month, give or take and this is not always a predictable event, also, those who have seen enough of the planet have determined that there is, or will a civillisation there at some point, evident by the ancient ruins and the small yet technologically advanced cities.  
  
This is another feature of The Little Planet which adds so much mystery, it has no place in time, to some it would seem as if it was stuck billions of years into the past whereas another viewer will see the place florishing in technological brilliance. No one is quite sure where such massively varying accounts would come from, but since study is restricted and the mountains act as an effective blockade, only small pieces of information can be gathered per trip.  
  
However this is not to suggest that The Little Planet is, by any stretch of the imagination, an unknown feature. Infact reports were first made on its discovery over a century ago and, as the tide of time sweeps most things into legend and myth, the stories of the planet of miracles were spread. Most believe it was once a planet floating through space, which contained stones of great power, much like the recently re-discovered Chaos Emeralds (which were once told in myths and legends about an ancient race, but that's a story for another day) which granted it the power to travel in time and at some point it was floating through space and transported itself through time and when it reappeared it was within the atmosphere of this planet. For unknown reasons, though myths and legends vary on wether the ancient gods protected the planet or the power stones protected both worlds, it stoped and settled calmly over Netherlake, though it still goes forwards or back in time at random junctures, which is the only valid explination for its disappearing act. Though with no momentum to carry it, it just sits still in space waiting to return to the planet it now calls home.  
  
So it was on these mountains, listening to the breeze, Metal Sonic stood waiting, still feeling his masters orders to destroy him burning in his metal skull. He was created solely to defeat, destroy and surpass him. He was made with all of the originals powers and techniques, enhanced versions even and even some of his own unique tricks. Failure, to Metal Sonic, was an impossibility. 'But', he thought suddenly, 'He does have one thing on me, experience. If I am to attack him directly I would rather know what I am dealing with first hand. The files I have on his fighting style are detailed, but some things you need to see for yourself' and with that thought, he dived down into hiding and prepared a little welcoming gift for our hero.  
  
Meanwhile, Sonic was racing towards The Little Planet as fast as he could, something about Eggman's message felt wrong, what was this playmate that Eggman spoke of, and why The Little Planet? It wasn't Eggman's style to attack an unpopulated (well, widely believed to be unpopulated) area where he had none of his friends held captive, and how did Eggman survive anyway? He was there, he knew Eggman was on the Death Egg when it landed in the sea. 'Oh well!' he said outloud 'Not like I wont find out this stuff later anyway' and with that he doubled his pace and entered the mountain region.  
  
Amy Rose was also at the outskirts of the mountainous region, owing her early arrival to being closer to the scene than Sonic at the time of the announcement, by a couple of hundred miles give or take. Still, this was as far as her little car could take her, even an off-road veichle couldn't get through that. She let out a little sigh and continued on foot, cursing herself for not bringing any camping equiptment. She now knew it was going to be a long journey...  
  
As soon as Sonic was surrounded by rocks and cliffs he felt it was time to let rip and have a warm up session. As much as he loved running, there was little enjoyment to have from going in a straight line. These high peaks and jagged rocks were just the sort of playground Sonic loved to test his skills in.  
He started off with a few little bounces, keeping his full speed and momentum, pushing himself from the side of cliffs or hopping over little rocks and spinning down deep ditches only to rise back up. He laughed outloud as he planted his hand on the tip of one of the cliffs, that was when he first saw it. His smile vanished instantly as he witnessed The Little Planet, fully coated in metal, floating in the air exactly as The Death Egg had in space.  
Such disrespect for nature sent fire to Sonic's heart and his rage forced him on as fast as he could.  
Metal Sonic was watching and saw this to be his chance, with a quick swish of his hand he cut through a gigantic rock he was standing by, then started kicking the pieces directly at Sonic.  
The hedgehog reacted with a split second of shock, unsure on how or why the cliff would suddenly do that, his mind gave way to action though as he bounced off of the rocks coming towards him, running up the face of another, as he reached the top of the final rock he caught sight of something holding a much larger boulder, it seemed as soon as he was spotted the boulder was thrown and the figure was obscured by the gigantic mass of rock heading his way. There was no time to dodge and the rock he was standing on was going to fall and shatter in an instant if the boulder didn't get him first. Without thinking of the consequences or fearing failure Sonic dashed forwards and jumped straight towards the oncoming threat, spinning as fast as he could. The impact was hard, but Sonic's plan had worked, he drilled all the way through the boulder, landing on the other end and then using it to jump across to another peak.  
'Phew' he said, resting for a second, 'that was tight' he looked around quickly, trying to find the figure, but whoever it was had disappeared.  
'Maybe that was my playdate' he said, jokingly.  
  
Metal Sonic was impressed, he was still watching his biological counterpart from the shadows and was happy at the data he had gathered. For a moment he took some form of pride to be based upon, and superior to such a person. He eagerly awaited the time he would get to fight him head on, but logic and a slight sadistic edge demanded he allow Sonic to reach The Little Planet and witness just what he and the Doctor had accomplished in a single day, as far as this planet was concerned.  
  
'What the hell?!' screamed Sonic, after returning his attention to The Little Planet 'it's chained up!' his eyes were focused on a mountain which had been shapped to look like Dr Eggman's face, it's mouth was holding a giant chain which was keeping The Little Planet fixed to the planet. The beautiful fields and azure lake below the planet were unaffected by whatever evil Eggman had commited to change the planet into some form of metallic orb, Sonic pondered this for a second, but decided action needed to be taken, thinking about the little details was something to be saved for after each adventure, afterall.  
He jumped down from the peak and spun down, hitting a slope and launching himself high above the lake. With a little effort he guided himself back down to the chain and made a mad dash for the top, to The Little Planet, and once again, into Eggman's evil schemes.

* * *

Chapter 3

**Panic!** A World Controlled by Eggman!  
  
'Come on!' Sonic shouted to himself as he ran up the chain heading towards metal form of The Little Planet under Eggman's control. With every step he could feel his anger increasing.  
Suddenly the hedgehog was swept off his feet as The Little Planet's gravity stole him away and dragged him upwards, through a bed of thick cloud buzzing with electricity.  
It was a rough landing, but not his worst (that was reserved for falling from The Death Egg) and after shaking off his minor injuries he was able to look at the damage that Eggman had caused.  
What Sonic saw, brought a tear to his eye. Everything was coated in metal, every individual blade of grass was coated with aluminium, steel palmtrees with whatever sick circuitry Eggman had installed hanging loose, some places were even on fire.  
'Eggman... what have you done...' Sonic breathed to himself, looking around. He jumped out of the way as a large crackling current swept across the floor beneath him, he tried to look up but a thick blanket of black cloud obscured his vision of the world below him, lightning fizzed across the skyline and thunderclaps crackled and boomed almost constantly. It was a complete disaster, like all those Sci-Fi movies about post-apocolypic worlds.  
  
There was a reving sound which count Sonic's attention, even over the constant thunder, he turned to see a swarm of robots, far more than he had ever seen in the past, each focused intently on Sonic, he turned again to see more robots swarming and surrounding him. There was no chance of running even if Sonic's pride and concience would allow it, he had to fight!  
  
He sped out towards the nearest swarm and began an assault, spinning, punching, kicking everything he saw. It wasn't even three seconds before a laser blast hit him from behind, Sonic immedietly recovered and focused his attack on the rear group, a robot rammed into his side knocking him down, 3 more jumped ontop of him. Sonic thrust himself up and ran back, bouncing off of a palmtree and returning to the heat of battle. He took down another 6 robots before 3 laser blasts knocked him back to the ground, panic and fear slowly started to creep into the hedgehog's mind as he swung a nearby robot into the oncoming ones to find that even more were approaching at the rear, before he could attack laser blasts from the side had already knocked him down and he was, once again surrounded.  
Perhaps for the first time in Sonic's life, he felt no hope. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, expecting the worst, there were too many of them. He had walked directly into Eggman's trap like a fool.  
'UUUUUH-HU-HU-HU!!!' laughed Eggman, as his Egg Mobile hovered above 'Is that all you've got Sonic? I'm disappointed'  
Sonic's head zoomed up and he spied Eggman and felt his burning rage double within him, giving him the energy and will to keep fighting.  
'EGGMAN!' he screamed jumping up towards his nemesis 'What have you done?! I'll never forgive you for this!' before he could make much distance he was smacked down by one of the hundreds of robots on the scene. Undetered Sonic sprang right up, determined to get at Eggman and finish him once and for all.  
'Well, if you'd like to know Sonic. This is the future of this world if you were not there to protect it'  
'What did you say?!' exclaimed Sonic, launching a robot into another swarm and dodging a few laser blasts 'Make sense, old man'  
'Such insults!' cried Eggman, putting on a sound of mock hurt 'I thought I was the one in the position to be insulting you. As you can see, there is no chance for you to win'  
'There's always a chance!' shouted Sonic, grabbing a flying robot and aiming it's laser canon to fire at the other robots 'As long as there is a single breath in my body I shall continue to fight'  
'We shall soon see how well you fare then. If you survive this encounter you may learn some of the secrets of this wonderful planet' said Eggman, enjoying the little show 'I'll be waiting for you in this future whenever you think you are strong enough to defeat me. You've got all the time in the world!' 'You're full of crap' shouted Sonic, keeping a few oncoming robots at bay 'Whatever you've done to this world I can just as easily undo'  
'Well then, I suggest you learn how to use these' Eggman said, lifting a jewel up 'What is that?' Sonic said, leaving his attention on the jewel long enough to be pounced by some more robots, he quickly removed them and regained his footing to continue defending his position.  
'A Time Stone, Sonic, to allow me to travel freely through the past, future and present of this world'  
'Really?' said Sonic, now fed up with the pointless and endless battle, 'Then I'll take it off your hands' he quickly grabbed a robot and swung it around, using it as a projectile to attack Eggman's hovercraft. It hit and jolted the Egg Mobile, but not enough to loosen Eggman's grip on the stone.  
'Well if you wish to be rude' Eggman said, shaking his finger and putting the Time Stone back inside the hovercraft 'I'll just leave you to your little game' and with that he flew off, laughing with every bit of breath in his lungs.  
'Curse you, old man!' Sonic cried, looking at his nemesis escaping, however the distraction only proved an opening for several robots to get more hits in.  
'DAMN IT!' Sonic screamed, 'I'll have to retreat' feeling a slight pang of regret Sonic barged his way through the robot army, racing as fast as his feet would carry him, ignoring all attacks, just pressing on and on. His body was used to getting pushed this hard, but he felt a strange tingling sensation across his entire body like he had never felt before, it lasted for a few moments and after it had faded his body surrendered and he collapsed to the ground.  
  
'He's here, I take it' said Metal Sonic, surveying the slight damage to Eggman's hovercraft 'Yes!' said Eggman rather amusedly 'and it looks like he survived the initial assault aswell.  
'This was to be expected' the robot said, pacing around uncomfortably 'From what I saw a bunch of flower powered machines couldn't bring him down if he was blindfolded and tied down'  
'You speak highly of him!' remarked Eggman 'Of course I do' replied the robot 'How can I insult the abilities of the one who I was made to mimmick'  
Eggman smirked, but said nothing. 'So what is your plan of attack now he's here'  
'They are my own' said Metal, if he had a mouth it would probably have smirked.  
'What?! I command you to tell me what you are planing!' shouted Eggman 'So you can interferre? No chance! I am programed to destroy Sonic by any means, if that means keeping you, my creator, in the dark, so be it'  
'Be warned Metal' Eggman said 'I can't reprogram you now you're active, so if your objectives come against my own'  
'Then it'll be your own fault!' said Metal, walking out 'Where are you going?!' yelled Eggman 'To do what I was made to do!' he called back, racing off.  
  
'Mr. Sonic'  
Sonic's head felt like bees were trapped inside of it and trying to burst their way out.  
'Mr. Sonic? Are you alright'  
His legs were burning in pain, his feet were throbbing inside of his shoes.  
'Please wake up Mr. Sonic'  
His body felt numb from all the attacks he had recieved.  
Let me rest... I'm so tired 'Oh no! SONIC! HEEEEELP'  
He could feel the comfort of soft grass beneath him and the calm flow of air flowing across his still body.  
5 more minutes.  
'I WONT LET YOU HURT MR. SONIC'  
A loud crash.  
Ok... ok.  
Sonic's eyes slowly opened, when they were open a blinding light flashed in his eyes, he screamed in pain and covered his eyes then looked down.  
'Sonic! You're awake!' cried a female voice, 'Better not look up, the sun is reflecting on the lake down there, makes a pretty blinding light'  
Sonic looked around, he was in the same place he was before, he recognised it, but the metal was replaced with grass and the palmtrees were organic. The place looked absoloutely beautiful under the light of Netherlake's reflection. Life was flourishing here, it was shocking to think that a moment ago this place was all metal and chaotic. The thought of that future ruled by Eggman made Sonic's heart burn.  
His attention was then grabbed by the female, he looked at her, a pink hedgehog, she was somehow familiar, but he couldn't put his mind on where he had seen her before, he also noticed the wreckage of a robot with a large sunflower resting in the centre, swaying in the wind.  
'You did that?' Sonic questioned, looking at the robot.  
'Hehe! Yeah! It was trying to hurt you Mr. Sonic, I had to do something!' she replied, in a bubbly voice.  
'Well, thanks kid. I guess. Do you live here or something? What is this place'  
'This is the Palmtree Paradise'  
More like Palmtree Panic! Sonic's inner monoglouge thought, thinking back to the near death experience his body was still aching from.  
'And I don't live here, I came here following you' she said, looking sternly at Sonic, annoyed that he was zoning off while she was talking.  
'You followed me?' Sonic questioned 'How did you get here so quick'  
'QUICK?!' Amy shouted angrily 'It took me a whole WEEK to get here and I almost died when the gravity sucked me off the chain. Oh Sonic, what happened to you? When I landed I saw you and you were hurt. I was worried'  
Wow, angry to concerned in a second... this girl is seriously schizophernic.  
'A week? I guess that makes sense... if Eggman was right I was in the future, stands to reason I could have come back a week later than I went there, or have I been unconcious'  
'You was in the future and you saw Eggman?' the girl said, excited 'Does that mean you have the Time Stones'  
'Time Stones? What are you babbling about, kid'  
'Well if you're not going to be nice, I'm not going to tell you!' she said, folding her arms and walking off I hate to do this but...'WAIT!' Sonic cried, running towards the girl 'Ok, I'm sorry. Tell me what you know'  
'Well....' she said, with a finger on her chin 'What I do know is' suddenly she tackled him to the ground hugging him tighter than anything Sonic had ever felt before 'You're the dreamiest hedgehog I've ever met'  
Sonic growled, angrily and shoved her off 'Kid! I don't have time for this, go home to your parents'  
'IDIOT!' she screamed, whacking Sonic over the head 'I am NOT a kid, I am a lady! and if you don't know about this planet I don't think you can beat Eggman. Now, stop being a jerk'  
'Stupid girl' Sonic breathe under his breath, rubbing his head.  
'Now, I already know your name' she said, 'so I think it only fair to tell you mine SEEINGS AS YOU FORGOT WHO I AM' with a single instant her expression went from angry to calm 'I am Amy Rose, it's a pleasure to meet you Sonic'  
'The pleasure's all yours...' said Sonic quietly, wondering how he got himself into this mess.  
'Alright!' she said 'Now here's what I know about this place...'  
  
_-To be continued-_


	3. Kidnapped!

Chapter 4

**Kidnapped?!** Amy Rose is held hostage!

'See, this Little Planet is like a paradox' Amy began 'It doesn't exist here, there or anywhere. It exists in the flow of time'   
'Smart words for a little brat' Sonic interupted, rather annoyed 'Care to dumb it down a shade'   
'Oh! Right!' Amy said, angrily 'Of course, I should have guessed that you was a big fat idiot!' Sonic's eyes lowered to see the innocent, and sweet girl was actually sporting a very large hammer which she was dragging along with her. _Just my luck, a bi-polar fan-girl with a big hammer and a vicious streak.   
_'Well in SIMPLE terms' she said, switching back to her nicer side 'this place has 7 special stones, like the Chaos Emeralds'   
_She knows about the Chaos Emeralds!? How!_   
'Which keep this world stable, as long as they are kept evenly across the planet. If they're brought together everything becomes unstable and the slightest reaction can hurtle the world forwards or backwards in time'   
'How do you know these things?' Sonic asked, starting to suspect the little girl of being far more than she seemed.   
'It's a girl's duty to know these things Mr. Sonic. You stick with me and I'll be the brains to match your brawns, we'd make such a great team' she said, dreamily 'Just think of it, Sonic and Amy saving the world while everyone comments on what a cute couple we are' she let out a dreamy sigh and clasped her hands together, looking at Sonic 'Wouldn't it be wonderful'   
'No thanks kid, I have a brains to match my brawns (though he is no match for me, if he ever thinks he is, I knock him back down to size) and his name is Tails'   
'IDIOT!' shouted Amy, swinging her hammer at Sonic who, quickly, ducked 'You prefer boys! Don't you'   
'Calm down!' Sonic shouted,'How dare you make those accusations at me anyway?! Who do you think you are'   
The girl hmph'ed and walked on, in a grumpy mood. It wasn't a few seconds before Sonic heard a shriek.   
'AMY!?' he shouted, running forwards. What he saw was a Metal Version of himself standing menacingly infront of the female hedgehog. Sonic's brain reacted with a simple command, ATTACK! He jumped straight forwards, preparing to smash the metal faker without even thinking of who or what it was. His speed peaked and he jumped forwards swinging his fist at the robot, but instead of a hard impact and the clang of his fist hitting metal, it swooshed through the air and Sonic's full speed drove him right into a wall.   
Amy looked up at her fallen hero and inspected the Metal Sonic, it was a hologram of some kind, she followed the beam of light to the source, a projection unit. Again the girls rage surfaced and she smashed the box into oblivion using her hammer. The hologram vanished soon after.

'Sonic? Sonic? Are you alright?' Amy questioned, arousing Sonic from his second bout of unconciousness in the past hour. 'hehe. You're alot goofier in real life than I thought you'd have been'   
Sonic was only half awake at that point, but Amy's words managed to anger him out of his groggy state and bring him straight to his feet. 'What the hell?! How dare you! I was trying to save your life. A little gratitude wouldn't go amiss'   
'hehe. Silly hedgehog' she said, still laughing at the little prank that Eggman had set up 'It was just a hologram'   
Sonic growled, Amy had to take a step backwards, she hadn't imagined the fun loving saviour of the planet to be so angry and mean. Apparently Eggman was rubbing him the wrong way and for a moment she even thought that she was causing him headaches, but she dismissed that thought as Sonic being stubborn. Her cards said that they were a match made in heaven. Amy Rose's cards were never wrong.   
'Come on!' Sonic shouted, looking at Amy 'Seeings as you're intent on playing damsel and this planet seems to have a future where even I have problems staying alive, it's best you stick with me'   
'Awww... you care about me!' she said, latching onto Sonic, who blushed instantly.   
'Listen, kid! I care about this planet, I care about stoping Eggman and I care about the fact that you are about the only living thing here. You personally, I don't give a hoot about'   
'You're just being shy!'Amy said, squeezing him tighter 'Silly kid! I don't have time for this!' he shouted, pushing her to the floor and running off. He'd barely taken a few steps before he heard another shriek. He turned his head and saw Amy being carried off by something, perhaps the thing in the hologram, without thinking he gave chase, pushing himself beyond his normal limits.   
_That tingling feeling again_

Suddenly the world changed, everything was swallowed by a green aura which spread out and when it faded, left the world in a completely different state, the ground Sonic had been walking on was suddenly missing. Before he could even have chance to recover he found himself falling into a spike trap, there was no where to manouver and all seemed lost until Sonic noticed that several bat robots were floating above the trap. He praised his luck and span, hitting the robot and bouncing back to safe land. 'Ha! Call that a spike trap?! Nothing can beat the one I dodged in the Mystic Cave anyway'   
Once he took a moment to regain himself he looked around the new place. It heavily reminded him of the Casino City from back home, except of course the Casino City wasn't decaying, under a steel sky or basically ruled by Eggman.   
'I'm back in the future' he said to himself, making a note that the tingling feeling meant he was time travelling.   
'Ah well' he sighed 'Guess I've got to live with it. Eggman said he'd be in the future anyway, so maybe I can vent my frustration of failing Amy on him'

Suddenly he jumped forwards, bouncing off of bumpers and springs, making his way onwards. Enemies were trying to attack him from all around as before, however with this much space to dodge and more obstacles to put in between him and his robot enemies, it was a much safer journey than he had expected, however twice as tiring. Bouncing off of bumpers wasn't as easy or simple as he made it look, infact it hurt quite alot and thanks to his previous injuries of the day it wasn't too long before Sonic's body caved in and dropped him from the sky. Wether it was luck or coincidence he landed on a flipper which launched him back into the air, instinctively he grabbed a at robot as he passed it and it proved a useful enough mode of transport, flying him above the rest of the zone, though one look at the upside down horizon was enough to make Sonic almost throw up.

'This is crazy!' he said to himself, 'I'll never defeat Eggman at this r-' before he could finish verbalising his inner thoughts, the bat had started to nose dive, thinking its life unimportant compared to killing Sonic. The hedgehog let go and managed to keep himself from a rough landing by bouncing from a few walls. The bat smashed into the ground and was reduced to a pile of rubble. As before a lone flower sprouted from the wreckage, despite there being no soil nor living flora anywhere in sight.   
'Perhaps that's how he's powering them' he thought, aloud.   
Suddenly the wall began to move towards him, pushing him down a chute. Unable to escape in time Sonic fell and was forced into a ball.   
'READY FOR A GAME OF SONIC SPINBALL?!' called a familar evil voice EGGMAN!   
Before he knew it he was shot into the air and found himself inside of a simulated Pinball table, no room to escape, except up, where Eggman's hovercraft was. Sonic landed on a flipper and awaited his chance to be launched up, hoping to aim himself towards his nemesis, though instead he found himself aimed at the wall which was lined with spikes Ok, Mystic Cave... all is forgiven.   
Wether it was Eggman feeling generous or over ambitious, Sonic's flight was prevented by a laser blast from Eggman's hovercraft. He fell to the ground pretty heavily and was swept by a ramp back towards the flippers.   
This is insane! I'll never beat him at this rate!

'Sonic! I made this room especially for you... Or I will make this room for you. I'm not sure, but what I know is that you shall die here!' Eggman laughed, watching the hedgehog struggle to keep himself from hitting the spikes.   
'And look, more friends'   
Suddenly bat robots filled the room and Sonic's face sported a smirk as hope was finally restotred. He launched himself off, swinging from robot to robot and finally attacked his nemesis, reaching the top half of the table. Another few well timed launched and he was free.

'Well... that was fun, don't you think?' Asked Eggman, looking at Sonic 'Want to play again'   
Sonic didn't reply, he just looked angrily at the dictator.   
'Awww... did I put you in a bad mood'   
'Where is Amy?!' he said 'What?' Eggman asked, genuinly confused, what are you babbling about 'AMY! Where is she?!' Sonic looked more furious than Eggman had ever seen, he was scared.   
'I honestly don't know what you mean Sonic, please, I really don't know'   
'LIES!' Shouted Sonic, jumping up to attack, Eggman quickly closed the cockpit and turned the Egg Mobile and flew away full speed.   
'YOU CAN'T OUTRUN ME!' shouted Sonic, giving chase. As he caught up he could feel that tingling sensation all over.   
Oh no... not again... not now!   
and once again, the world faded away in a green aura...

-

Chapter 5

**Rage!** Metal Sonic's Dilema!

_For future reference. Speed Time Travel_ thought Sonic as the green aura which now occupied the entire world faded, once again dropping Sonic from solid ground into unfamiliar territory.

When he landed, he found himself on a rapid current river trailling down a slope of some sandstone ruins, well they would be ruins, if they were ruined. Deciding to analyise his situation at a better time Sonic tried to free himself from the current, but the duel effect of flowing water and a downward slope were too strong. All he could do was ride it out until the end. Almost without warning he was sent hurtling into the air and had to react quickly to grab a ledge and pull himself up.   
'Phew' he said to himself, looking down 'Glad I didn't fall. Looks like a pretty deep pool there, and I can't swim'   
It was at this time he finally had the safety and comfort to analyse his new surroundings. Even his "act before thinking" mind was able to easily grasp the fact he was currently in the ancient past. Whatever civillisation constructed this place must have used the water here as their main supply. Thoughts about where this civillisation were, how clouds and oceans could form on a world within a world and other such things were forced to wait.   
'Ok!' Sonic declared to himself, 'Whatever Eggman did to control this world must have started from the ancient past to affect the future. So I think it's time to go exploring'

Elsewhere in the future of the planet, at what seemed to be a city area with roads and buildings everywhere there was a tall billboard shaped as a pink castle to stand as a monument overlooking the happy, yet eerily uninhabited, city. From the front, all seemed well, mostly, Eggman's influence had yet to take over this area of the planet, but shadows of the dark future were already cracking in through the harmony of the true future. However, at the rear of this giant monument something different was going on. Metal Sonic stood, arms folded, starring up at the pink hedgehog he had tied up to the poles which supported the back of the castle.   
'LET ME GO!!!' she screamed, angrilly, struggling to break free from the ropes 'What would I gain from such action' said Metal Sonic, calmly 'With your presence here, I need not search for Sonic. He will come to me'   
'WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO WITH SONIC?!' she screamed, her rage was enough to burn through the ropes, however Metal Sonic was not very considerate when tying her up, it was too tight for her to move, she could have had all of Metal Sonic or Super Sonic's strength and still struggle to break those bonds.   
'Quiet yourself or I shall do it myself' the robot said, studying the girl's expression with some interest 'As for my plan. I plan to do as I was created to do. I plan to destroy him'   
'You'll never win! Sonic will beat you and save me! Just you see' Amy replied, trying to keep calm. Something about the metallic imposter terrified her, deeply.   
'We shall see' he replied, keeping his arms folded and his synthetic voice as cold as his processor would allow 'But I must ask, why are you confident'   
'Because, Sonic is fighting for something more than evil! He has to stop you or the world will be destroyed, I know my Sonic and he will never give up while people are in trouble'   
Metal Sonic turned and looked out to the back of the city, towards the Metallic Maddness area, which has been a factory since the ancient past. Currently it was slowly degrading, shifting from a pleasant future into Eggman's control. 'I understand' he said, slowly 'However. You forget, My sole reason for existing is to defeat Sonic. Surely if my entire will is focused upon his defeat and that alone, then it will out-power his will to save the planet'   
'YOU'RE WRONG!' Amy wailed, 'You may exist only to hurt him, but he will find a way! I know it'   
Metal let out a small noise, his own recreation of a snort, it didn't sound right as a digital recreation, but the effect was far more chilling 'And again, I ask what makes you confident'   
'Because...' she stammered, watching the zone infront of her, the good parts and the bad '...Because, Sonic looks at the world the way we are seeing it now. The future of if he wins and the future of if he loses. He's not fighting to prevent the bad future, he's fighting to create the good one'   
Metal Sonic folded his arms and looked down, to the ground 'Wise words, for such a young woman' he said 'But how do you know I am not fighting to create my ideal future'   
'Because Eggman didn't program you to! You exist only to destroy Sonic. Do you even know what you'll do, what Eggman will do with you, once that mission is complete' Her voice sounded kind of concerned, watching the way Metal Sonic acted reminded her of how she believed Sonic was. A cold and lonely spirit who was being forced by destiny to follow the path he had chosen, or perhaps even forced upon. She felt little sympathy for the robot during this whole ordeal, however right now would be the moment when she felt some at all, even if it was just a little.   
'I am not programmed for such thoughts' the robot replied, the unmitskable sounds of fear and doubt in his synthetic voice.   
'But you are programmed for emotion, I see' Amy said, still concerned in her own little way 'I pity you, Mr. Robot'   
Suddenly Metal's anger flared, with a primal scream he ripped apart the support beam he was standing on and threw it as far as he could, Amy's eyes cried out in fear but her vocie failed her. She watched horrified as the robot began smashing parts of the frame, thankfully not causing too much damage to the structure as to make it topple completely.   
Suddenly he stopped 'I see no logic for such an outburst. I am a machine. I have no soul. Such things as dreams or ambitions are useless to me. As is your company. I will return when the hedgehog arrives. Until then, I wish to be alone'   
And with that, Metal Sonic flew off leaving Amy, alone and afraid.

Back in the ancient past, Sonic was running through the ruins, searching for evidence of Eggman's influence among the ancient structures. There wasn't much to get in his way and for this, Sonic was gradually growing bored.   
'I'm an adventurer, not an archeologamist... or whatever Tails calls them!'it was at this moment of carelessness that he stumbled onto a platform which was far less stable than the rest, it crumbled under his feet almost immedietly sending him plunging towards his worst nightmare, water!   
For a moment Sonic could do nothing but struggle to get back to the top, he couldn't swim so it was a struggle in complete vein. Panicking he tried to run as fast as he could to activate a time warp, but the lack of friction in the water kept him running on the spot, without any progress.   
this is bad! he thought to himself as he waded through the depths as best he could.   
I can't hold my breath for that long Thankfully he was fortunate enough to notice a quick current running through the water, to his right, frantically he pulled himself towards it until he was swept in. The current pulled him swiftly through the waters and into a pipe, going up into fresh air. Feeling relaxed enough to breath he allowed the air to pull him, even if it was going back into the water, he was safe for the time being and could at least take a breath before going back in.   
However, those thoughts took a back seat when he spotted something through the glass, some form of machine, which seemed to be churning out robots, as the platform it rested on was full of them. Most were flopping into the pool, but the rest remained, unable to get their circuitry wet.   
'ALRIGHT' Sonic shouted 'That's what I'm after!' he span and smashed through the glass, landing on the platform and made a mad dash towards the device, destroying it with a single attack. Once it crumbled, all of the robots spontaneously combusted. Sonic wasn't quite sure if this was because the robots were sent from the future to protect this machine or if they were merely governing the robots, and without it, could no longer function. Either way, the result was the same. Ruins of metal covered the entire platform and, again, flowers began sprouting from the scrap.   
For a moment, Sonic felt proud of himself and took a moment to relax.   
'I bet every zone has one of these things, maybe if I break these I wont have to get those Time Stone things that Amy and Eggman mentioned'   
'Did someone call my name?!' the voice of the villainous Dr Eggman replied 'I see you worked out my little secret, well done Sonic! Though in doing so you screamed your location to me across time and space. Prepare to die'   
Eggman then steered his Egg Mobile straight downwards, smashing through the remains of the glass pipe and then the platform that Sonic was standing on.   
The rivals were forced into the water and it was there that Eggman would have the supreme advantage. His Egg Mobile's thrusters charged up, creating a whirlwind of bubbles around him and he charged in on Sonic. The hedgehog dodged as best he could and sucked the air out of one of the bubbles, thanking his luck that they were there to keep him alive.   
Eggman again swooped in low, but Sonic was, even underwater, too quick for him. The battle grew tiresome for both parties rather quickly, Eggman had no major form of attack besides trying to ram his nemesis and Sonic was being repelled by the bubbles which were, infact, saving his life.   
'We'll call it a draw, for now' Eggman called over the speakers of his Egg Mobile, flying out of the water and disappearing in another time portal, probably created by his time stone.

Sonic frantically made his way back to the glass tube, the current had stopped since the glass was broken, but he was still able to use the sides to pull himself back into fresh air. After coughing out all the water he had inhaled, he lay resting for a moment 'I'm in the ancient past. I have time to spare... but watch it Eggman, I know your weakness now and I'll do my best to exploit it!'


	4. Panic!

Chapter Six: **Panic!** Even Heroes Get Afraid!

_'Sonic! Come on! Hurry up!'  
Sonic was running blissfully along the overgrown grass of a tropical paradise zone, the type of grass which not even the plushest carpets in the world could compare to. To his side are palm trees, a large lake gently rippling, splashing the reflection of the sun as far as the eye could see, great mountains in the distance, it was the type of scene which would only appear on the most talented artist's canvas.  
Sonic smiled broadly as he continued to dash along, trying to catch up with silhouette ahead of him, the voice it called out with sounded much like that girl he had rescued (or had rescued him) earlier that day, he desperately ran on pushing himself a little bit more as she called again.  
'Hurry up Sonic!'  
Then a shiver, starting from the tip of his nose and running down through his body, as it finished another, then another. The air suddenly changed, the once bright sky clouded into shadow and the pleasant scene was turning to darkness. Ahead of him the silhouette of a hedgehog stopped. Around him the world was in darkness, the palm trees hung dead and loose, the mountains began to crumble, raising huge dust clouds which just added to blot out the sun.  
Cautiously, and afraid, Sonic tapped the hedgehog on the shoulder. Another cold shiver, slid down from his nose. The hedgehog turned, it wasn't Amy. It was something else! A steel shadow, a dark mirror image, the evil impostor who stole her away!  
Instantly it grabbed Sonic by the neck and drove forward, through a palm tree and straight into the water. Sonic flailed with a sense of urgent desperation, he tried to call out through the thick and polluted water that he was afraid, he wanted to scream for help, but the robot's hand was choked tightly around his neck, all he could do was stare into the heartless LED eyes of the impostor as reality gave way and another cold shiver rushed into his nose_

Sonic's eyes snapped open suddenly, he let out a scream and started flailing wildly. After a few moments he managed to control himself, realising it only a dream. His screams echoed through the empty caverns of the Tidal Tempest zone until only his unsettled breathing and the occasional drip of water seeping through the sandstone could be heard. By chance, one such drip had managed to localise itself over Sonic's head while he was sleeping.  
'Just a dream...' he reassured himself, still feeling shaken up and unsure what had scared him more, his fear of water or that heartless monster bearing his image.  
Shrugging it off, he returned to his feet and cautiously made his way through the deserted tomb of the ancient past. The silence was deafening and only added to increase Sonic's rushing adrenaline, he was clearly terrified, checking each suspicious stone before he would dare attempt to cross.  
'No need to rush' he said to himself, if only to attack the silence around him for a moment, 'I'm in the ancient past, I have time to spare' he paused again, letting the echo of his own voice fade through the endless passages.  
Eventually he came across a dead-end. The wall ahead of him made of the same sandstone as almost everything else in this crazy place. He examined it carefully, noticing several markings, none of which he could make sense of, nor would they open any secret passages after being tapped.  
He gave a low sigh and decided to spin through it full force, it wouldn't be the first, nor the last, time he had used this approach, even if it was pretty painful. With a long run up and a loud crash, which filled Sonic's ears with joy, the wall was rubble and he saw before him a cave, much like the Mystic Cave he had explored back on Westside Island.  
'Looks like I'm making progress' he exclaimed, with a sense of satisfaction.

Elsewhere on The Little Planet, in the future, Metal Sonic stood starring up into the reflected sky. It was night-time and he was on the hemisphere of the globe which faced downwards, towards Neverlake. Its surface reflected the glow of the full moon and captured the specs of the stars. The robot saw this and his eyes interpreted it as reflected light, bouncing from the sun, to the moon, the water, to his eyes: A complex reaction which takes place over several hundred thousand miles across space, all to create such a scene. His thoughts were calmer than when he had left Amy Rose, abandoned in the Stardust Speedway, and currently he was trying to work out what was beautiful about this scene. His information database, which Eggman had pre-installed into his memory, recognised that people made great paintings themed on scenes half as inspiring as this.  
Giving up, the robot hung his head and starred at his hands 'You would look at this and be moved!' he said, aloud, to himself, 'Eggman would see it could be improved' he starred up again 'I see nothing. I see molecules and reactions; I see equations and their solutions. Perhaps the girl was right: A motivation and a soul; these things are vital to be a living creature. I do not live, I just exist and I shall perform my function as a computer would load data or an alarm would sound at the appropriate time. I see no need to feel anything. I do not have a soul. I do not have a goal' at that he fell silent, for what could have been 10 seconds or 10 hours, then at length he spoke again 'I see the logic, I ordered myself to stop feeling, yet it is still here. I cannot switch it off' he looked up again 'Perhaps things aren't so clear. I can look up and see the sky, but I know it is reflected light, but I still recognise it as the sky. Emotions blur perception, or perhaps add to it. So much is unclear. Why was I programmed to feel?'

In the mine, Sonic was travelling along a conveyer belt, standing still and waiting impatiently to get to the other side. When he first arrived he had taken the freedom from the dreaded water to dash freely along the underground passages, but had felt that tingling sensation.  
'Gotta keep slow, or I'll go back to the future' he reminded himself 'just got to find that generator!'  
Without warning he was suddenly caught in an upwards belt which shot him into the air, again he felt that tingling rush across his entire body and panicked that he may get sent to the future before he had finished his job here, thinking quickly he grabbed a hold of a spiked rock on the ceiling, then waited for the sensation to drift off, before letting himself fall to the ground. After a minor bit of exploring he eventually found himself in a large room which seemed to be for storing all of the mined materials. At the top was a platform which was emitting sparks, it didn't take a genius (which Sonic clearly wasn't) to work out that the generator must be up there, as the ancient past didn't have many things which could spark in such a way. He quickly ran across the room and was happy to find a conveniently placed spring, perhaps Eggman was careless in his placing, but Sonic was still too shaken up by his earlier vision to take any chances, instead he made a mission out of scaling the walls manually, eventually he reached a higher platform and could see the generator plainly, with less urgency than his previous encounter he was able to study it. several steel discs loosely connected by metal threads in an oval shape pulsating with energy all splashing into the centre, forcing each disc back as far as it would go. Sonic could already see a robot being created in the heart of it, from a plant seed of all things! No wonder they sprouted plants when destroyed.  
Quickly Sonic jumped over and attacked, the machine crumbled to pieces as before and he heard the shatter of several robots that were patrolling the above areas shattering simultaneously.  
Sighing, in a relieved way, Sonic jumped down and ran on, but something had caught his eye, until now all of the jewels he had seen were quartz crystals, but this one was rather different. Drawn by curiosity Sonic picked up the polished stone and felt that tingling sensation rush all around him, light emitted from the stone and flooded the hedghog's vision and when he was able to see again the room, which was once only carrying a few spoils was now full of glittering crystals as far as the eye could see. It was clearly the distant future again, but unlike the last time he was here, it was beautiful, the place almost brought a tear to his eyes.  
'Of course!' he exclaimed 'that machine is what caused the bad future, without that this place is set up for its true future' he whistled, impressed 'Then that means...' he starred at the stone in his hand, then a wide smile came to his face.  
'Watch out Eggman! Here I come!'

-

(Dearest reader: Up until now you've been reading a fiction I started about a year ago and never finished. From here I'll decide if I should add to it or not. If I do, I'll probably skip ahead to the Stardust Speedway race, as I've lost the flow and momentum of this story and it'd serve as a nice way of picking it up.

Thanks for reading; I'll start writing more soon if you'd like)


End file.
